Collapsible container



Nov. 21; 1939'. c. w, VOGT 2,180,841 COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Original Filed April 15, 1936 INVENTOR Clarezwe W 05 5 Patented Nov. 21, 1939 I UNITED STATES 2,180,841 OOLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Clarence W. Vogt, Norwalk, Conn., assignor, by' mesne assignments, to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application April 15, 1936, Serial No. 74,424. Divided and this application March 15, 1938, Serial No. 195,954

10 Claims.

This application is a division of my prior application Serial No. 74,424 filed April 15, 1936.

This invention relates to containers which may be made and shipped-in flat collapsed form, and which may be readily opened. up and employed for the storage, shipment and dispensing of pourable or spoonable materials 'such as liquids and solids in powder or granular form.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved container of the type referred to.

A further object is to provide a new and improved outer supporting structure for a flexible bag when said bag is charged. h

The flexible bag may be so constructed that when collapsed it comprises a pair of flatwalls of substantially equal areas, facing each other and forming a filling and pouring mouth at one end. A portion of this mouth is permanently sealed, and another, preferably the center portion, is unsealed prior to the filling operation and thereafter closed by a seal which may be readily broken without the use of tools, without mutilating the bag, and without in any way contaminating the inner surface of said bag.

. The. outer supporting structure which com-' prises the main novel feature of the present invention is a shell having six parallel fold lines, two of which are medial lines on opposite panels so that the shell may be collapsed by folding on the medial lines. The tubular liner is preferably so secured to the shell that when the latter is opened up or expanded to rectangular form, the liner is likewise opened up.

As a feature of the present invention, the bag is so constructed that when collapsed it will comprise a pair of opposed flat wall members; separated by infolds to form the other two walls of be expanded bag and the shell likewise has a )air of opposed flat, wall members separated by rutfolds to form its other two walls when ex- )anded.

Various other objects, features and advantages f the invention'will be apparent from the folowing particular description and from .an inpection of the accompanying drawing in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a flexible bag ombined with the outer comparatively still ardboard frame, and shows the bag after it has een filled and sealed and prior to confining the pper end of said bag within, the contour of aid outer frame structure,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the coniiner shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the container of Fig. 1, prepared for storage and transportation, v

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a shipping carton having a number ofcontainers of Fig. 3 packed therein, I I

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section, showing I the container in Fig. l in the process of dispensing into the crank case of. an internal combustion engine,

Fig.6 is a perspective view of the container of Fig. 3 after the major portion of the contents thereof has been discharged, and showing in section the partly collapsed bag, and

Fig. -7 is a perspective view of the upper end of the inner bag, and showing another manner in which the mouth of the bag may be sealed.

It must be understood that the thickness of plete hermetically sealed collapsed bag.

The bag may be made of laminated or coated sheet material, the inner layers or coating of which are of such material that when said inner layers are superposed and pressed together under heat, they will weld, vulcanize or hermeti cally unite. As an example of such material, I may and preferably do employ a type of thin. flexible, transparent, slightly elastic, impervious material sold under the name of "Pliofllm and made from chlorinated rubber compound. -This material has the thermoplastic characteristic of being readily vulcanized or sealed at a temperature of approximately 115 0., so that the overlapping sections thereof may be vulcanized or sealed together by the application of heat and pressure, even though the surfaces have been previously wetted by contact with liquids or moisture-carrying plastic materiaL- Another material which may be satisfactorily used in some constructions and for some .material is a moisture-proof cellulosic material of the type. sold under the trade name "Heat Sealing Cellophane. A thin sheet material having a waterproof coating or layer such as thatsold under the trade name K oroseal, may also be used. Also, other materials' may be used, which may be fabricated into a casing by the use of adhesive 5 understood, however, gut invention is concerned, the bag may be of willbe infolded in f shi p or 2 or solvents to sealably secure adjacent surfaces of said material together. Asthe details of construction of the inner liner orbag per se form no portion of my present collapsed to form'two opposed panels 25 and 28' and connecting infolded wall sections 21. The tube may be. transversely sealed along narrow strips and cut into sections to form the bags or liners, closed at the bottom and having a top opening between the opposed panels so that the pp edges may II after filling. Preferably the opening at the top extends only to the infolds and it is only along this section that the bag is opened as at I5 in Fig. 6 for discharging the con- As the opening does not extend across the entire width of the top, the opening may be closed by a clip 84 as shown in Fig. '7- instead of or in addition to being sealed. The walls of the bag may be out below the clip to open the bag or the clip may be attached only suiliciently ction-tight to permit it to be pulled off. 1 The present invention includes a newand "improved outer relatively stiff frame structure It for protecting the flexible bag during handling, storage and outer frame structure is shown applied to the bag of the form above referred to but it must that as far as the presother similar type. In the specific form shown, the outer frame structure is in the form of a collapsible cardboard tube open at both ends and having a rectangular cross-section when set up corresponding to the cross section of the distended inner bag. This frame tube 10 collapsed and expanded with the inner bag, and for that purpose has a pairof opposed panels 1,1 cemented, or otherwise secured to the corre- ,sponding front and rear walls of the inner bag and interconnected by the panels .12 on the in.- folded sides of said bag. These panels 12 are provided respectively with medial longitudinal score or crease lines 'I3'to permit the easy outward folding of said panels. When collapsed, the two panels 1| will come together and the two panels I2 will be folded outwardly along their crease line" and portions 21, of the bag I the condition shown in Fig. 6. It will be noted that the outer element has six re lines and the inner element has sixfold es to permit this collapsing. v .The combined frame tube and inner bag is delivered to the filler in collapsed flattened condition. The operator sets up the cllapsed tube 10 and charges the inner-bag through its upper end. and bag are so correlated as to eliminate. the hecessity of setting up said frame tube pre- "liminary to the filling operation since the expension of the bag during this filling opera- .t io'nicauses the corresponding expansion of said frame tube.

'Ihe'bag when collapsed has its lower end ex-.

tending below the lower end of the frame tube Tlf As the bag is filled, this lower projecting end of the bag gradually moves up until the bottom of the distended bag rises to a position approxibe sealed together as at so that it-is diflicult or transportation. In Figs. 1 to 6, the

- tion of the panel .in'the conduit at,

The collapsed frame tube Inorder to hold the collapsible cardboard frame ll in set-up position after the bag has been filled, there'is provided a cloth or paper tape liadhesivelysecured at its ends to the collapsible 12 and tautly stretched across the lower end of the frame tube. The upper end of the cardboard frame I! may be similarly provided with a tape Tl stretched between the collapsible panels I; to form the shippable package shown in Fig. 3. tapes I and I1, besides holding the frametube 10 in set-up condition, also serve to hold the ends of the bag withinthe confines of the cardboard frame 10.

In the shipment and storage of the containers shown in Fig. 3, it is customary to have a number of these containers closely packed together in-some-sort of-carton "I! as shown in Fig. 4, impossible to grasp the sides of these containers and pull them out of the pack. In order to permit a container to be easily'extracted'. from such a close pack, the upperend of -onefof the panels of the cardboard frame III, as for instance the panel II, is provided with an arcuate notch I9 (see Fig. 3)

and these containers are so packed in the shipcontainer is adiac .t to an unnotched panel of an adjacent container. By this means the porof one container opposite to the nctchfpfa panel of an adjacent container may be grasped by the. fingers to pull out said former container from the close pack.

A container as shown in Fig. 3 may be used for a variety of purposes. Such ,a pack for instance, has a great deal of adaptability for the purpose of holding crank case oils since it lends itselfto easy dispensation. In Fig. 5 is shown a -manner in which a container such as that shown 3,. containing lubricating oil, may be easilydispensed from forthe purpose of filling"the crank case of an automobile engine. For that p there is shown a conduit 00 leading into the crankcase of the engine; Extending into said conduit is a funnel u having Queer more clips :2 in the inner side or the flared portion thereof for supporting a container therein.- when it is desired to an the crank case of the motor, the funnel 8| is placed The upper and bottom tapes '1' and'Tl of a- .oontainer.are then torn or removedrand theseal between the pouring lips of the mouthfbroken'by the simple manipula- 1 the parallel lips. However,

As the W oftlrej bag is discharged; the

bag willautolna'ticallycollapse into flattened con-' dition, andtsince the front and Iai' walls of the inner bag in connected to the panels 'll of the frame tube, this collapse of the inner bag causes the corresponding collapse of the frame tube. When fully discharged. the container will be in lips having a readily breakable seal, whereby said lips may be used as a pouring spout, and an outer supporting frame structure for said bag, permanently secured thereto, said frame structure be? ing open at its upper end.

2. A package including a bag of flexible material containing dispensable materials, an outer readily collapsible supporting frame structure for said ba permanently secured thereto, and easily 'breaka le means for holding .said bag in expand-' ed condition for-shipment and storage.

3. A package including a flexible bag containing material, and an outer tubular supporting open-ended frame structure for said bag, said frame structure having a pair of opposed walls provided with medial crease lines whereby said frame structure may be collapsed intosubstantially flat condition as the contents of the bag are discharged, and a readily breakable tape tautly stretched across one end of said frame structure and having the ends thereof secured to said walls for holding said frame structure in expanded condition.

4. A package including a flexible bag containing pourable material, and -an outer tubular supporting open-ended frame structure, said frame structure having a pair of opposed walls provided with medial crease lines whereby said frame structure may be collapsed into substantially flat condition as the contents are discharged, and apair of readily breakable tapes stretched respectively across the open ends of said frame structure andhaving the ends thereof secured to said walls for holding said frame structure in ex-' panded condition. a

5. -A package including a flexible bag containing lubricating oil, an outer tubular supporting frame structure permanently secured to said bag, open at both ends, and having a pair of opposed walls provided with medial crease lines whereby said frame structure may be collapsed into substantially flat condition as the oil is disease of said container.

3 charged. and easily breakable means for ing said frame structure in expanded position.

. 8. A container comprising a flat folded supporting shell and an inner liner each having six parallel fold lines, two of which are medial lines on opposite two panels and being folded on the medial lines, the folds on the medial lines of the shell being outwardly, and=the folds on the medial lines of the liner being inwardly, and the liner being'secured to the shellwhereby when the shell is erected it results in a rectangular shaped container and opens up the liner.

7. A container comprising a flat folded supporting shell and an inner liner each having six parallel fold lines, two of which are medial lines on opposite twopanels and being folded on the medial lines, the liner being secured to the shell whereby when the shell is erected it results in a rectangular shaped container and opens up the liner, and a transverse member secured to thesaid panels of the shell which have the medial fold lines, and normally preventing outward folding on said lines.

8. A package including a flexible bag and an outer tubular supporting open-ended frame structure for said bag, said frame structure having a pair of opposed walls provided with medial crease lines whereby said frame structure may be collapsed into substantially flat condition as the contents of the bag are discharged, and a member extending acrossone end of said frame struc-- ture' and having the ends thereof secured to said walls for holding said frame structure in expanded condition. t

9. In combination a container having flexible walls and an outer tubular supporting frame structure encircling said container and having a pair of opposed walls provided with medial crease lines, whereby said frame structure may be collapsed into substantially flat conditiomand a member secured to said-walls and normally preventing said collapsing.

10. In combination a container having flexiblewalls and anouter tubular supporting frame structure encircling said container and having a pair of. opposed walls provided withmedial crease lines, whereby said frame structure m y 'becollapsed into substantially flat condition, and

a pair of flexible members extending across opposlte ends of the frame structure and connected to said walls and normally preventing collapsing of the frame structure and protecting the ends cnammcs w. voa'r. 

